Acts 3:17-23 (NIV)
“Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer. Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you–even Jesus. He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from among his people.’”
As the terrible reality of Peter’s words sank into the hearts of the men listening to him, they grew increasingly fearful. Had they really missed the Messiah when He finally showed up? Had they, in fact, stood by while He was murdered? If so, and it looked increasingly likely that that was the case, how could they hope to escape the judgment of God that was doubtless hanging over their heads at that very moment?
Peter saw and felt the panic rising among his listeners and moved on to his next step: grace. While still allowing the reality of the people’s collective guilt over Jesus’ murder to stand, he acknowledged that it had occurred because of their ignorance, not just theirs, but the ignorance of the leaders of the people as well. They had grown spiritually distant from God over the centuries and had begun to rely on their own wisdom to guide them, their own intelligence to determine the meaning of the Scriptures, and their own legalistic righteousness to place them in good standing with God. All of that had hardened their hearts, stiffened their necks, and blinded their eyes to who and what Jesus truly was.
And even though that ignorance led the people to unwittingly fulfill every messianic prophecy to the letter, it did not excuse them from the guilt of what had happened. It did, however, open the door to grace. But only if the people truly repented, truly turned away from their old ways of thinking and acting and turned back to God with all their heart, begging forgiveness for their sins, and receiving Jesus as their Savior and Lord.
If they would do that, then God promised to send the Messiah, Jesus, to them, not yet in His second coming, but to live in the people as a present reality through the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in their hearts. Jesus would return one day but, as Peter pointed out, He had to remain in heaven until the time fully comes for the ultimate restoration of all things.
Peter quoted Deuteronomy 18:15, 18-19 to urge the people to receive Jesus as the Messiah, the Prophet whom Moses told the people to expect. And there is more than encouragement here; the Scripture contains a threat to the people as well. If they refuse to listen to and obey the Prophet, God’s chosen messenger, when He does show up, they are doomed to be cut off from among the people, a Hebraism that implies isolation from God, and thus being liable to ultimate destruction.
Father, Your mercy is not a soft, mushy mercy that winks at sin and simply excuses the guilty. Instead, it is a mercy that opens the door to repentance and holds the possibility of forgiveness IF a person truly turns away from their sins. Thank You for the way that Your mercy made a way for me to pass from death to life, from darkness to light, from doom to hope. And thank You for the way that that mercy continues to work in my life all these years later. Amen.
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